Mitigating circumstances

diz574

I've just checked my photos taken of the signage at the car park. There is nothing that states "If you can not pay, do not park".

Umkomaas

diz574 said:

I've just checked my photos taken of the signage at the car park. There is nothing that states "If you can not pay, do not park".

Is it any different to Tesco not having a sign that says "If you cannot pay, do not take any food"?

Snakes_Belly

There are a number of cases regarding being unable to pay for various reasons. There is a case Link Parking v Mr N which involves a faulty ticket machine. Link rep said car should have been moved. Judge said otherwise. 

What I would stress is that your payment was not an afterthought after receiving a PCN. Payment 10.40 am, PCN 10.45 am. You would have also started the transaction before the payment was made at 10.40. At the time of the transgression you had met the terms of the contract. 

In my initial hearing which was rescheduled the judge did comment to the Claimant's representative that I had left a note on the car (photographed by the Claimant and in their WS) and that indicated to her that this was not an afterthought that I had placed on after the event. 

I used several cases which you will find on my main thread. The judge in my rescheduled hearing picked up on this case in particular, Jolley v Carmel Ltd [2000] 2 –EGLR -154. He read it out. It's an old case which basically says that if someone has tried to comply with the terms of the contract but for reasons out of their control cannot comply then they should not be penalised for not being able to meet the terms and conditions. You however did meet the terms and conditions at the time of the transgression but their system seems to be slow in updating.  

IMHO they will struggle with this as you had paid for parking before the PCN was issued. Take care that they do not try to tamper with the evidence.
  
I would be almost tempted to write back and say that at the time of the transgression you had met the terms and conditions of their contract and to pursue this through the courts is a vexatious claim.

Coupon-mad

Umkomaas said:

diz574 said:

I've just checked my photos taken of the signage at the car park. There is nothing that states "If you can not pay, do not park".

Is it any different to Tesco not having a sign that says "If you cannot pay, do not take any food"?

I think it is different and I feel we need to make sure the new CoP covers this - ideally that if machines are broken and there is no alternative payment method, then parking is free until they are repaired (as is the case on street...).

diz574

How does this apply when a car park only offers to receive payment via text or using a phone app. This is what happened in my case. I had little or no phone signal at the time I arrived. When I made the payment I was in a different part of town and had a reasonable signal.

diz574

I have just emailed BW Legal to inform them I am seeking debt advice though disputing the debt. 
I have received an automatic reply asking for more personal details including my date of birth. They say they need these to process my email effectively. I'm uncomfortable with this.
Can they specify they need these extra details, particularly as my date of birth is completely irrelevant to the case?

Le_Kirk

Refer them to the Pre-action Protocol for Debt Claims and ask them where, in there, does it ask for a DOB?
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/protocols/debt-pap.pdf

KeithP

diz574 said:

I have just emailed BW Legal to inform them I am seeking debt advice though disputing the debt. 
I have received an automatic reply asking for more personal details including my date of birth.

An automatic reply? Ignore it.

Coupon-mad

Certainly they do not need your date of birth but will need the PCN number/your VRM (copy of V5C?) to identify you.

The thing about a failing phone signal is a valid defence; if you paid in full for your parking then a Judge should be with you.

Snakes_Belly

If your payment has gone through before the time on the PCN then you have proof that you paid before the incident. I will stand corrected on this but it surely does not matter how long the car was parked before your payment went through. It's when the time was logged on the PCN that counts. Am I missing something?